Tactical Development

Tactical Development

In the short term, companies sometimes achieve gains by trimming the workforce, ignoring opportunities for processes improvement in favor of expense reductions that produce quick increases in profits.

But the gains are not sustainable, because the program reaches stasis, where no further gains are possible without additional staff to cope with increasing workloads.

To compound the problem, staff reductions release experienced insiders into the job market, where competitors may acquire them for a fraction of the cost of hiring and training new employees. Worse, the negative, apathetic attitude of soon-to-be-terminated employees creates a lingering adverse affect internally.

A creative program of Operational Excellence uses tactics that complement the company’s strategy for achieving their compelling vision. This approach generates sustained optimism, lateral thinking, and an uptick in morale.

Optimal rate of deployment

Change and process improvement are crucial to success. But focusing too early on tactics leads to reactivity and blinds participants to the potential of Operational Excellence.

To be sustainable, tactics must be selected based on how well they improve company performance, employee experience, and customer satisfaction. And they must emerge from a proactive strategic process.

Collaboration and expectations

The perfect starting point for a program of Operational Excellence is to make better use of what you have. Employees need to be educated and aligned. Team members need to collaborate and set realistic and achievable expectations. This sets the stage for change and sustainable progress.

But such work is difficult if not impossible for internal resources. XONITEK brings an objective process to refocus the staff on increasing capacity and value for the company, the customer, and themselves. This tactic is not a shortcut to Operational Excellence, but it is the most direct path.

Setting the Pace

Time spent considering and planning the deployment of resources can uncover many process improvement opportunities. With the right procedures to assess, define, schedule and implement changes, tactical deployment takes on a pace that prevents burn-out and the resultant collapse of the program.

To sustain the pace of improvement, there needs to be a constant flow of information and communication between management and staff. Without buy-in, creativity dwindles , errors increase, and implementation timescales expand.

That takes us full circle to one of the great strengths of XONITEK: helping develop strategies that reflect the company mission statement, as discussed in Strategic Vision Building. The back-and-forth communication required to select and align tactics that complement the strategic vision is a critical to success.

So avoid tactics that dictate strategies. Consider the amount and availability of resources, additional training needed, and how to raise awareness . This takes more time than going directly to tactics, but it is the fastest and surest path to Operational Excellence. The bonus is that it facilitates and speeds up Logistical Organization.